Chapter 4: Interlude
Meanwhile, in Ranma's the Spirit/Dream realm...
The young girl materialized in the plaza between the three temples and looked around for her brother. She was about ten years old with blue-black hair and brown eyes. Even the grumpiest person would have to admit she was a cute little lady in her yellow sundress. She spied her target sitting on top of the Yang temple, looking out of the temple complex. "Rera!" she shouted. Her brother turned to wave at her, but didn't move otherwise. She ran at the temple and jumped to lightly land on the roof. Rera watched as she climbed up to him. "What are you doing Rera?" she asked.
Her brother was a sturdy boy, about the same age she was. His blue eyes looked at her mischievously out from under his black hair. He was wearing a clean white gi, tied with a sky blue belt. With a naughty grin, he pointed out across the fields that lined one side of the temple complex. Apay looked out in the direction indicated. She saw two people lying in the grass. An ordinary ten-year old girl might have said that they were wrestling, even though they were missing their clothes. Apay wasn't close to ordinary though, so she turned to Rera and doped-slapped him while yelling "Voyeur!"
Rera's look was unrepentant. He turned and indicated the couple again. "I've always known about love-making, but I never really understood it. Now I do," he commented. "To call it 'sex' or 'coupling' or even 'mating' sells it short. Once you add Love, it really becomes something special."
Apay rolled her eyes and said: "Mind your own business and leave them alone."
Rera looked at his sister and chuckled: "Ranma is my business, and so is Akane. They are your business too."
Apay rolled her eyes again and firmly grabbed Rera's hand. Then she teleported both of them to near the fountain in the center of the plaza. He was still sitting on the ground looking at her with amusement. "Honestly!" she exclaimed. "They've been at it two hours in the waking world and managed to finally wear themselves out and fall asleep. Then they come to the Dream realm and continue?"
Rera laughingly replied: "They won't wear out here!" He then dodged another dope-slap from his sister. "Oh please," he snorted. "You find this interesting too!"
Apay crinkled her nose at him and then admitted: "All right, I do. They have had to put up with enough garbage over the years and I'm happy to see them finally rise above it. Hopefully, they won't have any regrets about the Equinox pushing them."
Rera waved his hand dismissingly and stated: "The Equinox didn't do anything. Since today is exactly one year before their wedding, both of them wanted to make this a special day. He was hopeful, but had planned a nice evening for them without pushing her. She was planning on this morning before the Equinox started interfering."
"Well, I hope you're right," Apay replied. "Anyway, that's not why I came here."
Rera raised a right eyebrow and asked: "What's up?"
Apay looked at Rera and sighed: "I want to talk about Sister while our Guardians are distracted."
Rera's face conveyed his complete lack of interest. "There's nothing to talk about," he stated.
"Oh come on! You're not going to hold a grudge are you?" she wheedled.
"A grudge?" he asked mildly surprised. "You think I bare a grudge? We spend nine hundred years locked away, our power drained by a greedy witch. All because our Sister did something extremely foolish and unwise, and sold us out in an unsuccessful bid to escape some pain. Then a handful of poor humans have to be sacrificed to bail us out," he said evenly. "And if that's not bad enough, those same humans don't even get a peaceful death, but have to be dragged back from the dead and saddled with us for the rest of their mayfly lives. A grudge? Why in Kama-Sama's Name would you think I bear a grudge?" he finished. He gave Apay a rather direct look. "Did I miss anything?" he asked.
Apay sighed. "Not really," she admitted. "But she is family."
"Well, so are Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga now. I'm going to concentrate on getting them through the Storm. I owe them that much," he said. "So do you."
"Yes," she agreed quickly enough. "Suma feels the same way. But he thinks there may be a way to save Sister as well, without hurting our Guardians."
Rera's expression became indifferent again. "Suma will rule the next Cycle. It's his call. He can expect my full cooperation in whatever idiocy he comes up with so long as the humans' chances are not decreased. When Ryoga falls asleep, Suma can come discuss his plan with me."
Apay winced as she pushed out the next words: "Actually, he doesn't have a plan, and he wants you to rule the next Cycle."
"WHAT?!" Rera yelled. "I ruled just before Sister! She's only had it for a few thousand years!"
"And she screwed it up royally," Apay pressed. "You kept things running for millions of years!"
"Oh, and the last few Ice Ages were such fun!" he tossed back. "Kami-Sama is still sore about those!"
"Actually, He's not. He just wanted to give you a break," Apay said consolingly. "Things worked during the Ice Ages. Yes, a lot of creatures died, but a lot more survived. Life became stronger and hardier. You watched over everything and always made sure the smart ones had a way out. And not all the extinctions were your fault – if any. You just thought you were at fault."
"It's Suma's turn!" Rera grated out.
"Henna has done a lot of damage to the Earth. It's going to take all of Suma's brain power to fix it. He knows he's not that bright. He knows he won't be able to fix the planet and rule." The wheedling tone had crept back into Apay's voice. "I can't follow Sister – we'd have a little pile of cinders. It has to be either you or Suma – I'll rule the Cycle after that. Besides, you're smarter than Suma and me put together."
"Which means you want me to figure out how to save Sister – if that's even possible!" he growled.
"Please?" she begged using Akane's puppy-dog eyes. Unfortunately, Rera had modeled himself after Ranma a little too closely. He groaned and fell back to lie down on the plaza. "Please?" Apay reiterated looking down on him. "Please?"
"Fine," he moaned finally. "But if - *if* - I can pull this off, I'm going to confine her. She will not get a free hand for the next two Cycles and when her turn comes to rule again, I get veto power over her. She will not be able to make any more stupid bargains. And the safety of the six of us take priority over hers."
Apay beamed at him and clapped her hands together. Then she knelt down and hugged him. Rera thought to himself: "All right, there are worse sensations than being hugged by her."
Suddenly a quiet Voice sounded in the area about the Siblings: "***Thank you***"
Apay sat up and grinned at the wide-eyed expression on Rera's face. "I told you He wasn't mad at you!" she laughed. Rera just laid there stunned for a bit. Apay watched as Kami-Sama's Blessing seemed to fill Rera with a sparkling light, and then faded into the once and future Elemental King.
Eventually, Rera sat up and took a big breath. "All right," he started. "First order of business: tweaking 'big brother's' nose." He made a gesture and a large wide-mouth cannon appeared in the plaza. It raised its muzzle to the sky and fired with a large booming sound that shook the Realm.
Now, Apay sat there stunned. "What did you do that for?" she asked.
"Getting even with you for talking me into this mess," Rera answered smugly. "Bye!" Rera called as he tore off towards the Cat temple. Apay was confused for a few moments until she saw Akane and Ranma run through the plaza's open gates. Both of them were dressed in their gis now. They didn't look upset per se, but they did look determined.
"Oh crap," Apay thought. "You jackass!" she yelled as she chased after Rera with the two teenagers pursuing her.
Ranma woke up first with a grin on his face and waited for Akane to wake as well. He didn't have to wait long as she stretched and giggled softly. She opened her sparkling chocolate eyes and looked at her fiancé with a smile. Then she said: "We are not even married yet and already we have children disturbing our 'private time'."
"Only in the Dream realm," Ranma laughed. "And you went light on Apay by tickling her."
"Oh please," Akane said dismissingly. "Rera set her up."
"My ward?" Ranma protested. "How can you claim that about my ward?"
Akane gave him a very direct look. "Tell me he didn't," she challenged.
"Not with a straight face," Ranma smirked. "Sometimes he can be a little shit." Akane laughed and snuggled in closer to her lover. Ranma held her tight and added: "That's all right; I didn't let him get away. Still, the look on her face was priceless, just before she ran after him. She did not see it coming."
"Nope," Akane agreed.
"Is everything all right with you two? I mean has she given you any grief about us?" he asked.
"What?" Akane said confused for a moment, but the moment passed. "No, no. She knew you were part of me the day she showed up. No matter how much we fought in the past, that was never an issue. She's very happy for us. For that matter, the fighting has dropped off all together. We've grown use to each other now. We know how to give each other space and when not to." Akane chuckled: "She's actually became quite snuggly lately. She no longer rejects reassurances." Akane's voice became worried as she asked: "Why? Is Rera concerned?"
Ranma shook his head lightly. "No, he's not. I was just asking. Rera is happy for us and that is that. As long as I stop by every night, he seems happy and satisfied. He's also started sneaking into my conscious state, like some of the cat spirits do. I think he's just curious like they are. Unlike them, he retreats when it's just you and I though."
"That's interesting," Akane commented. "Apay's always stole into my consciousness. We fought about that every now and then, but she's learned the boundaries now. She's often there during school, and tags along when I'm with Yuka and Sayuri – very much like a little sister. But she's vanishes now when it's just you and me." Akane laughed again and added: "She does tease me a lot after one of our dates though."
Ranma nodded a little and then said: "Well excuse me, but I need to hit the toilet. I should probably swipe us some food too." He got out of the bed and threw on some pajamas.
"I am a little hungry," Akane admitted. "Let me know before you go to the house and I'll use the toilet after you."
Ranma nodded at tossed a set of sweats to her. "Just in case Mousse is about," he explained. "I don't share – not even glimpses," he added smiling. Akane smiled back.
As Ranma opened the door, light came streaming in through the doorway. The hallway was glowing brightly. "Whoa!" Akane said from the bed as she finished putting on the sweatshirt.
"Um, yeah," were Ranma's only words.
"What is that?" Akane asked as she threw on the pants and came to the door.
She watched as Ranma touched the outside wall next to the door frame. At his touch a little circle of light emerged and faded. "See for yourself," he replied.
Akane reached out and touched the same spot he did. Another circle formed at her touch and dissipated as the first did. "That's us!" she said. "Or at least our Love!"
Ranma nodded. "We somehow pulled Power from the Nexus while we were making love and it took after us. It's formed a Protection around us because we wanted privacy."
"Is it an issue?" Akane asked.
Ranma shook his head. "Not really. The dojo is ours though until it dissipates or we release it. I may want to ask Mousse if he needs anything from his room though. It won't let him in."
"Actually, you don't," Akane said. Ranma looked at her quizzically and she pointed at their feet. He looked down and saw a tray of food set on the floor of the hallway. There was a note from Ranma's mother on the tray. "She must have dropped it off before the Protection took."
Ranma picked up the note and read it. Then he shook his head. "Here," he said. I'll be right back."
Akane accepted the note as he left. It read: "I've grabbed some clean clothes for Mousse and his work gear. Enjoy the food and see you later! – Mom."
Akane bent down to look at the food and burst out laughing. "Let's see: Chocolate, strawberries, honey, figs, avocados, coffee, pomegranate, almonds, fish, arugula, and a bottle of red wine. Mother Saotome, you're as subtle as a brick," she thought. "I'm glad I took my pill before I came here. I'm also glad I keep them hidden in case you backslide. I'm definitely not ready for kids yet." There were also a few foods on the tray that were not aphrodisiacs, like the nice bread, but they were concessions to round out the meal." Ranma came back as she was still looking at the food, so she picked it up and handed the tray to him. "Here, take it inside. I'll be back quickly," she told him.
A short while later, she walked back into the room. Ranma was sitting on the bed with the tray. He looked up from the food and quizzed: "Let me guess – this food supposedly encourages sex?"
Akane grinned. "Yep. Most of it," she answered.
Ranma sighed and asked: "Are you sure she doesn't know where you hide your birth control pills?"
Akane burst out in a laugh. "Yes," she replied. "And Tofu has set a 'tell' around all three sets, although he's sure she would never tamper with Nabiki's."
"O.K., too much information about Nabiki," Ranma said with a pained look. "And why would she tamper with Kasumi's?"
Akane gave him a wicked smile and said: "Because she's willing to settle for grand-nieces if she can't get grandchildren right now." Then she laughed at his shocked expression. "Seriously," she continued with a smile. "I doubt very much she would touch anyone's. She's not the same woman she was a year ago, but she would tease and mock-threaten Kasumi and me if she knew. Your mom's become very playful since she got better. Tofu's 'tells' are for safety's sake, not because of your mother. There are a lot of busybodies in Nerima, and not all of them are mortal."
Ranma recovered his composure and looked at the food. He said with more than a trace of understatement: "All right, maybe my mother does like to play a few games."
"Just a few," Akane laughed. She decided that Ranma really didn't need to know that there were four sets of birth control pills in the house – and none of them belonged to Ranko.
Henna stood with the eleven other women around the outdoor Council Circle, all wrapped in their robes waiting to perform the Equinox Ceremony. On top of the tallest building in the Village was a prism waiting for the first rays of the sun to illuminate it and refract the sunlight into the large crystal standing at the center of the Circle. There were eight other women standing in a second surrounding Circle. Beyond the second Circle were most of the villagers watching the solemn rite. Razor was serving as the lead Celebrant, intoning the ancient words in a steady and stately voice.
Henna probed her surroundings with her mind looking for the telltale wisps of Magic that would indicate the local Power flows responding to the ceremony. "Nothing yet," she thought. "A little odd, but it's early. Should happen soon."
At an appropriate moment in the ceremony, Razor intoned: "We Amazons are one people with one Heart. Let those who are distant from us join us now." Then Razor paused expectantly. Henna heard the thoughts of Amazons not present in the Village murmuring in the air. "Let us all join in," Razor stated.
Now Henna heard the gentle thoughts of the villagers present merge into the murmuring. "Now we all pool our minds and pull Power from the Elements. Once that happens, I can feed on the power," Henna thought.
The murmuring grew stronger as the villagers grew more comfortable with the ceremony, but, suddenly, a discordant whisper ran through the murmuring. "What the hell is that?" Henna wondered. The whisper started out just at the edge of hearing, but grew steadily.
"Focus, everyone," Razor called out. "You're all a little distracted. Focus!" The whisper grew though – indistinct phrases sounded that soon caused real whispering to move among the crowd. "Focus!" Razor cried again. Try as the Elders might to quell the disturbance and offer reassurance, the discordance grew.
Up above, the prism lit up under the first rays of the sun. A beam of light illuminated the large crystal in the center of the Circle, causing it to glow gently. Now the whisper resolved itself into a low chain of words from multiple speakers: "Free…missing... where is she… free… teacher… abandon… free… lost… free… sick… free… FREE!"
Pain struck Henna's head as a massive migraine settled in her forehead. Razor was still trying to regain control of the Villagers (and the other Elders). Meanwhile, the center crystal flared as the moment of the ceremony came and went. "No!" Henna whispered harshly.
"FREE!"
A/N: Next up - Transitions (and a few answers).
